The Greenville City Council gave approval for the demolition of these two structures at 112 W. Gibson in the city because they have deteriorated to a point where the structures are unsafe. The two buildings, a garage and a house have been falling apart for several years. (Courtesy photos)

GREENVILLE — The Greenville City Council gave approval for the demolition of two structures at 112 W. Gibson in the city because they have deteriorated to a point where the structures are unsafe.

The two buildings, a garage and what City Manager George Bosanic called an “outbuilding” have been falling apart for several years. One of the two structures has partially collapsed, some of the debris falling into a neighbor’s yard, Bosanic said.

“I’ve seen deer camps in the U.P. in better shape than this building,” he said. “The front is in rough shape and the top is caving in toward the back. It’s been quite a mess.”

The city can take action to demolish structures deemed unsafe through its Dangerous Building Ordinance.

Bosanic said the city has given the homeowner, who expressed in a letter interest in bringing at least the house up to code, several chances to do so, but little to no progress was made.

“They didn’t come close and we said ‘OK we’re getting some complaints from the neighbors and its a danger to the community so we need to see plans for the repairs.’”

Certified letters sent to the homeowner detailing the city’s interest in demolishing the buildings if not repaired went unclaimed and were returned to the city.

“This building has been in a state of really bad disrepair for a very long time,” Councilman Mark Lehman said.

Bosanic said there has been no communication with the property owner since the letters were sent in May. The owner was not present Tuesday during a public hearing on the matter. The final opportunity for the owner to avoid demolition is through an appeals process with the circuit court, which must be done within 21 days.

The cost of the demolition is estimated to be around $6,000 to $8,000, but that will be assessed to the property owner through property taxes.

The City Council also voted to rescind a traffic control order (TCO), which did not allow parking at any time on the west side of Edgewood Street between Fairplains Avenue and East Oak Street.

Bosanic said the primary reason for this TCO was due to the amount of activity at the church located there, as overflow parking occurred from time to time making it unsafe for traffic to flow through the neighborhood.

However, the church building has been “repurposed” and the current use no longer impacts the on-street parking.

A new TCO was approved removing that restriction for part of that stretch, but on-street parking along the west side of South Edgewood from East Oak Street to M-57 will still be prohibited at all times.

Curtis Wildfong is the Greenville area reporter for The Daily News. Wildfong, a 2009 Central Michigan University graduate, brings a passion for covering hard news stories that impact all members of the community. He lives in Sparta with his wife and daughter.

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